In recent years wireless phones and other similar portable wireless communication devices have become a nearly universally carried by people around much of the world. Presently wireless portable communication devices enable more than just person-to-person voice communication, enabling wireless data transmission as well. Wireless data transmission is enabled in a variety of ways including text messaging over phone networks, Bluetooth communication connections over ad hock networks, Wi-Fi communication, and other wireless communication connections.
Despite the fact that most people in the industrialized world today who visit physical establishments such as restaurants, bars, gyms, and clubs, enter those establishments equipped with at least one portable wireless communication device upon their person, few technologies currently exist that enable the patrons of such physical establishments to selectively influence the environment of that establishment by entering data into their portable computing device. In a prior invention by present inventor, as disclosed in co-pending provisional patent application Ser. No. 60/897,555, entitled “Distributed media selection for localized establishments,” the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference, patrons of a physical establishment such as a restaurant, bar, coffeehouse, retail store, theater, stadium, or mall, may select the music for public play within that establishment by entering music selection data into a cell phone or other portable computing device on their person and sending an electronic message to a remote server.
What is needed, however, is a method by which other patrons of that same localized physical establishment may rate the music selection made by a selecting patron. What is also needed is a method by which a statistical result may be derived from a plurality of ratings received from a plurality of the other patrons. A method by which the selecting patron and/or the plurality of other patrons may be informed of the statistical result, thereby being informed as to the collective response to the selected media is further needed. Embodiments of the present invention address these needs.